Difference Between Power Bank, Power Station and Whole House Backup
The days of frantically running around to find an outlet to plug your phone into are all but over. The reality is that batteries of all shapes and sizes have never been more powerful, accessible or cheaper. In fact, the entire consumer electronics industry has evolved around making sure you always have a spare battery for any situation and even the ability to have AC backup power. Brands such as Jackery, EcoFlow and SOLIX offer a huge range of battery backup solutions at a wide range of prices. However, it can be overwhelming and difficult to understand the terms used: What is the difference between a solar generator and a portable power station? Is every home backup different? How do you decide how much backup power you need?
Understanding battery capacity and power output
Before we talk about specific devices, there are two dimensions that need to be understood. The first is how much energy the battery can deliver at one time. If the maximum power output is 1000 Watts and your device requires 1500 Watts to operate, the battery will not be able to turn on the device, no matter how much power it stores. Secondly, how much energy is stored is usually expressed in watt hours. If you use less than the maximum power, those watt-hours will last longer. If you use maximum power, they will last less. To understand your needs, you need to think about what devices you’ll be powering, figure out how much power they require, and find a battery with enough power output to power that device. Next, you need to consider how long you might need to feed it. Your hair dryer or microwave only requires use for short periods of time, but your refrigerator should be connected to constant power, and your CPAP may require eight hours of use. To determine how long a particular power bank will power your device, you can use a calculator.
Power Bank vs Power Plants
All power plants are also energy banks, as they are simply a battery that “stores” energy, which can then be used to power devices. However, when people mention power banks, they usually mean very small portable batteries. They are designed to only power your mobile devices such as phones and tablets and can easily be slipped into your purse or briefcase. Power banks usually have USB outlets. When you increase the capacity, you also need to increase the size. While power stations are still “portable,” you won’t be throwing them in your purse. They vary in size and weight depending on how much energy they store, so a small 240Wh power station will be quite light, while a 2000Wh power station will be quite light. The power plant will be much heavier and larger. However, most power stations are designed to be portable because people want to use them for camping and unplugging. These power stations will have USB ports in addition to AC ports, and in most of them. In some cases, some of these ports act as a UPS or uninterruptible power supply. This simply means that you can use the power station as an intermediate device between your devices and the wall network, which will constantly power the battery and therefore the devices. However, if you lose utility power, such as a power outage or even a power surge, the power plant will continue to provide stable power until the battery dies.
Power Bank, what you should pay attention to:
Solar Generators vs Portable Power Stations
Most companies that sell power stations also sell “solar generators,” which may lead you to believe that they are different products. Rather, they are usually power plants that are also equipped with a solar panel. A solar panel is one way to generate power for a power station’s needs, but these stations also usually have an input for standard AC power and power from a car charger, so if you don’t have access to solar power, it’s not a problem. Each power plant can accept a different number of solar panels. input at the same time, so how quickly they charge will depend on how many solar panels you use, as well as how clear the sky is and the panels’ line of sight to the sun.
Power plants worth buying:
Power Plants vs. Whole House Backup
While portable power stations can vary in power and output, the one thing they all have in common is portability. Sure, it’s difficult to carry around a thirty-pound battery, but it’s still doable. You can certainly use these backups at home in case of a power outage, but you will have to connect each item to a power plant. This could mean running extension cords throughout your home and having to choose which home devices take priority for power since you likely have a lot of devices plugged into the wall and only have a limited number of outlets at your power station. Whole-house backup power is a high-capacity battery that must remain in place and can be directly connected to the electrical panel. When the power goes out, the entire house switches to backup power through the electrical panel, meaning you don’t have to turn anything off—it’ll just be powered by the battery instead of the electric company. These systems may or may not be connected to a solar panel system and are typically expandable, meaning you can add additional battery packs depending on how much power your home requires. These backups can take many forms, from a device like the SOLIX f3800 , which, although quite heavy, can be moved around the house, or from a wall battery mounted to the side of your home.
As the power grid becomes less stable and we experience more weather events that cause outages, be it fires or freezes, having a battery backup becomes increasingly important. If you have medical equipment that requires power, or the weather is so critical that you need air conditioning or heating, these backups can be a life saver. Having a combination of devices, including power supplies, stations, and/or whole-house backup, combined with solar panels creates a path to self-sufficiency and safety when such disruptions occur.